Horton Hears a Who: Running Away
by NikChik-11
Summary: JoJo sings a song for his little sister, and gets mad when he discovers that his whole family eavesdropped on him. SongFic OneShot


**Yeah I don't know what the point of this story was, but it's supposed to take place BEFORE the movie, so there ya go. The song is Running Away by Jesse McCartney. I thought it fit well with JoJo, so yeah... I recommend listening to the song while reading. It helps set the mood and all. **

**EDIT:  I changed her name! Thank you guys so much for telling me her name!**

oOoRunning AwayoOo

"JOJO!"

JoJo winced at the sound of his name, and tensed up as his mother embraced his in a humongous bear hug.

"How was your first day of the 10th grade, sweetheart?" She asked, letting go of him. He merely shrugged, and began walking away from her and upstairs to his room.

"Oh, ok! Well, dinner's in the fridge! I'm going to the store, and your father will be home in a little while! Look after your sisters!" Sally called after him.

JoJo rolled his eyes and shut his bedroom door behind him, plopping down on his bed and putting his headphones in.

He pulled his notebook out of his backpack, and began on his Who-story. '_One day into the school year, and they're already giving us homework.' _He thought bitterly. He sighed, and began working, not even noticing the small intruder making their way into his bedroom.

He was already on question eight, when an orange bundle jumped out of no where, letting out a small ferocious yell as they landed in his lap, sending all of his papers flying.

"_Heady!_" He shouted, making the small girl with the large bow atop her head stare at him with wide, tear-filled eyes. He winced, not wanting her to cry.

"Hey, it's okay... Don't cry..." He told her, this time his voice becoming a little more gentle. She smiled, showing off her one baby tooth. He smiled devilishly and began tickling his little sister all over, making her scream in a fit of giggles. Heady was the one out of 96 of his sisters that he would actually talk to. It was probably just the fact that she was too young to understand what he was talking about.

"Song!" She screeched after she had calmed down a little. JoJo sighed. Singing was another thing that he did for Heady. She would wake up scared in the middle of the night, and for some odd reason instead of going into their parent's room, she would wander into his. At first, he didn't know what to do except send her back to her room, but soon he found that singing her to sleep helped a lot.

"I can't right now, Heady. I'm studying." He said as he leapt off the bed and began to retrieve his papers.

"Aw..." She pouted.

JoJo rolled his eyes out of habit, and bent down to retrieve some work that fell under his bed. He pulled out a piece of paper and looked at it confusingly. It looked old and worn, and definitely wasn't part of his Who-story notes.

His face filled up with remembrance as he read his own familiar handwriting sprawled on the page. It was a song he had written a few months ago. He had been wondering where it had gotten to.

JoJo looked at the still pouting Heady, then glanced over at the old Who-guitar in the corner of his room. He looked back at Heady and smiled. A small break from his work wouldn't hurt.

"Okay, you want a song? You got it." He said as he walked over to retrieve the guitar. Her face lit up, and she began bouncing up and down on his bedspread chanting, "Song! Song!"

JoJo grinned, and sat down beside her on the bed, sitting the paper down to where he could see it, and propping up the guitar. He began strumming away and then started singing;

_I need a break from it all  
Some space from it all for a minute  
I'm trying to make sense of it all  
This place is so unforgiving  
Wanting and waiting  
And somehow it's another winter  
Big plans and big dreams  
They're running out_

Little did JoJo know, was that his father had just arrived home.

"Sally!" He called. "I'm home!" He walked into the kitchen and noticed a note pinned to the fridge.

_Gone to store, be home later._

_Love,_

_Sally_

He put the note back on the fridge door, and decided to check on how his 97 kids were doing. Heading up the stairs and towards the girls' room, he heard a pleasant tune coming from one of the rooms. He stopped when he realized it was JoJo's.

Hmmm, must be playing his music too loud again. He thought to himself. He was about to open JoJo's door and tell him to turn it down, when he recognized the voice singing. It sounded strangely like... JoJo's? He opened the door a crack, and his jaw dropped in surprise at the sight before him.

JoJo was playing the guitar, and singing to one of his little sisters. Not just talking, but _singing_.

'_Cause I'm running away,  
running away  
I gotta do it, make my escape from this world I've been living in  
Nothing's holding me down  
I'm leaving this town  
I gotta do it, deep down I know  
That as long as I stay true,  
It doesn't matter where I'm running to_

"Watcha doin' daddy?"

The Mayor jumped with a start, and turned around to find another one of his 96 daughter's staring at him questioningly.

"Shhh, honey. Daddy's busy." He replied, turning his attention back to the door.

It was quiet for a few moments, before another voice piped up.

"Is that _JoJo_?"

The Mayor turned his head to find that three more of his daughter's had approached him and were now staring at the door dumbstruck. He merely nodded, shushing them.

_Standing alone in a crowd  
Can't find my way out but I'm trying  
Everything's within my reach  
But everything seems like it's nothing  
When you're looking for something  
That's better than what is around you  
All these illusions they're running out_

Pretty soon, all the 96 girls left in the house (plus the Mayor,) were standing outside of JoJo's room, listening to his song. Suddenly, another voice broke through the silence.

"What's everyone doing?"

The Mayor turned around to find his wife, Sally, standing there. He grabbed her hand and allowed her to peek through JoJo's door. She gasped.

'_Cause I'm running away,  
running away  
I gotta do it, make my escape from this world I've been living in  
Nothing's holding me down  
I'm leaving this town  
I gotta do it, deep down I know  
That as long as I stay true,  
It doesn't matter where I'm running to_

JoJo was getting to the climax of the song, and had stood up, swaying a little as he sang. Heady cheered him on, also standing up, and jumping up and down on his bed.

_And all I wanted was someone  
Who could see that I ain't just like anybody  
All I needed was someone who could  
Tell me it's all right_

_I've waited all this time to be apart of something  
I want it so bad and there's no reason to be  
Looking back 'Cause now I know I finally feel alive_

'_Cause I'm running away,  
running away  
I gotta do it, make my escape from this world I've been living in  
Nothing's holding me down  
I'm leaving this town  
I gotta do it, deep down I know  
That as long as I stay true,  
It doesn't matter where I'm running to_

He finished with a long note, and smiled at his little sister. "Was that good?"

"Good! Good!" She chimed, clapping her small hands. JoJo froze when he suddenly heard more clapping, and opened his bedroom door quickly. His father and mother fell to the floor, obviously having been leaning on the door. He stared at them in shock, before looking up to see that all of his sisters were giving him a standing ovation.

His father stood up quickly, beaming down at his son. "JoJo, that was absolutely, positively amazing!"

JoJo got over his shock, and shot his father a venomous glare, storming past him and out the door.

"JoJo, wait!" He heard him call out.

He continued walking until his father caught up with him, running in front of him and making him stop.

"JoJo, what's wrong?"

JoJo just glared at him, attempting to walk past him. The Mayor stopped him again.

"Did I do something wrong?"

JoJo had had enough. He turned around, sending his father a glare so fierce, it made him flinch. "_Dad_! You were _spying_ on me! Can I not have _any_ privacy in this house?!"

Surprised by his son's harsh words, the Mayor slouched. "I-I'm sorry, Jo... I didn't mean to, I was just—"

"Nosy?!" JoJo finished for him, crossing his arms across his crest.

"Yeah..." The Mayor said lamely. He suddenly got a stern look on his face. "Hey, wait a minute! This is _my_ house! I can spy on you if I want to!"

JoJo gave him an incredulous look, and rolled his eyes. "Whatever..." And with that, turned around and walked out the door, heading to the old observatory.

The Mayor rubbed his head, staring at the door. "Teenagers..."

**Like it??**


End file.
